Right before Apple’s announcement, however, T-Mobile and Starlink also teamed up to announce vague plans to bring direct Starlink connection to existing iPhone and Android devices. In a subsequent FCC filing, T-Mobile wrote, “Today’s ubiquitous consumer devices will not support reception of MSS (mobile satellite service) signals.”
SpaceX and T-Mobile propose to provide supplemental coverage from space, or SCS, through its partnership.
As T-Mobile and SpaceX have explained, SCS is particularly attractive because it relies on devices that consumers already use today; they will simply receive satellite signals using those same devices in areas where they do not receive terrestrial signals. While the public interest may favor additional use of spectrum designated for MSS use, today’s ubiquitous consumer devices will not support reception of MSS signals.
In a new filing spotted by PCMag this week, Globalstar is pushing back on T-Mobile’s claims that today’s consumer devices don’t support satellite connectivity using MSS.
Globalstar already supports direct-to-device MSS for emergency communications in mass-market consumer devices and is delivering extraordinary public interest benefits globally, including in rural and remote areas. In 2022, Apple Inc. announced a revolutionary, direct-to-handset “Emergency SOS via satellite” feature using Globalstar’s MSS network that is now available to users of the iPhone 14 family of devices.
Apple’s Emergency SOS via satellite feature allows users to initiate emergency communications through MSS transceivers contained in these devices and supports two-way messaging communications between the user and public safety response personnel.
This feature has already resulted in many lifesaving rescues since its launch.
Globalstar continues, touting that by using MSS, it will also be able to improve its implementation of satellite technology in the future.
“Globalstar’s MSS system will continue to evolve over time to support a growing array of direct-to-handset features and services in its licensed spectrum,” the company says. “Ultimately, hundreds of millions of people globally will have Globalstar connectivity at their fingertips in situations where communications are critical, and no terrestrial network is available.”
With this in mind, Globalstar is also calling on the FCC to ensure that SCS “does not cause harmful interference to other satellite systems, both inside and outside the United States.”
